These are the people that make me angry

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 6:50pm

sitting at the bar eating dinner before my 8 pm curtain (You can't take it with you). Just sitting down next to me is a couple ordering a small plate and wine. They tell the bartender they also need to check because they have a 7 pm curtain (Hedwig).


Really? Guess who will be a late arriver! Will post back with the time they leave!

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 6:57pm

6:55 and they're still here. And I am on 46th at. So 2 blocks from the Belasco

[haterobics]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 6:58pm

Maybe they want Hedwig to call them out for arriving late?!

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 6:59pm

6:59 and they are slowly moving from their stools. I HATE SELFISH PEOPLE

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 7:11pm

Ugh! So disrespectful! I was in a show not too long ago and our directors were STRICT. Latecomers were made to wait until intermission. No excuses. Are they outta there yet?!

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 7:14pm

I would clock their 'out the door' at 7:01.

The world revolves around them.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 8:15pm

Don't Broadway shows automatically start at 5 minutes after the announced time any more?

I'm not saying the patrons in question could get to the theater in 4 minutes, I'm just curious.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 8:32pm

Most do, but I think Hedwig and Les Miz are pretty close to the actual time on the ticket.

[MaddieBB12]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 8:42pm

Both times I saw Hedwig, Lena and the band were out for their little pre-show/warm up bit around 3:02ish, and the lights went out a 3:05. I consider the pre-show to be part of the show and really great to watch, but many people around me were uninterested, so...

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 9:46pm

Sorry. But you should be there at least 5 minutes before curtain. It is rude to everyone else who have paid to see the show from the moment

People are self centered and rude. And trying to beat the clock on the show maybe starting 5 minutes late is self centered

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 10:09pm

People coming in late for shows? Well I never heard of anything like this.

People coming late ain't news. When you take into account the other BS that happens once people get in the theater coming in late is the least of the problems.

[theatregeek6]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 10:45pm

sorry Roxy. Can't agree.

People coming in late nexus of transportation issues. I get. It's the ones who don't care then walk in front of me while the show is on that Piss me off because they don't care about anyone but themselves.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 1/23/15 at 11:10pm

Lordy! I hope you were able to fully digest and enjoy your dinner in between all those keystrokes. I got agita just reading your posts! It'd be one thing if they kept you from being on time for your show. But they didn't. And they didn't walk in front of you either. While I agree that people like that are annoying, so are people like you who feel it's their responsibility to police everyone else's bad behavior! Karma is a bitch.

[IloveBroadwAY3]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 12:56am

oan , did you enjoy Hedwig how was JCM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 12:56am

You realize that YOU just made them the center of your world, right?

There are only about a million things in the world that are more heinous then this. (Judging others might be on that list ) Is it rude to show up to the theater late? Yes. Is it worthy of hatred? To each his own.

This is one of those threads that says more about the poster then the subject.

[zzdawgg]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 12:58am

Thank you so much for this thread; very informative.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 9:16am

And then there are the people who forget to look at their tickets and think it's an 8 pm show when it's a 7 pm show. At a recent evening, I missed a good five minutes near the end of Act 1 when the entire row in front of me showed up about 10-15 minutes before the end of the act.

Personally I think the should not have let them sit down until intermission since it was SOO late....and I know the ushers tried to find a spot in the show that was least obtrusive. But by the time everyone sat down, decided who was going to sit where (the short people had to sit behind short people so rearranging took place), took off their coats and got comfortable and laughed out loud about their stupidity of not checking for the correct time, I had missed a whole chunk of the show. That was really really annoying.

[kdogg36]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 10:03am

When you take into account the other BS that happens once people get in the theater coming in late is the least of the problems.

Well, I respectfully disagree. Having to stand up to accommodate latecomers, almost always at crucial storytelling points near the beginning of the show or right after intermission, is easily the biggest annoyance I've encountered in my theatergoing days. Maybe I've seen isolated situations that were more acutely annoying at the time, but I've endured the latecomer problem on so many occasions that it has to rank as my number one peeve at the theater.

Dramamama is right - it may not be worth spending time worrying about audience behavior, considering what else is going on in the world at any given time. But if there's any audience behavior worth bellyaching about, I think latecomers should be on the agenda. :)

[Patash]

Posted: 1/24/15 at 10:24am

You have to blame the theatres a little bit for this too. When was the last time you attended an 8 PM show that started at 8 PM? Theatres have been teaching people that they have an extra ten minutes before the show will start.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 1/26/15 at 6:13pm

I don't about 10 minutes, but the tradition of starting at 8:05 is at least 50 years old and has been in effect since I first attended a Broadway show. (They were still using candle light.)

In fact I had a running battle with an off-off-Broadway theater where I worked. They were determined to teach everyone to show up at the time printed on the ticket. But since it wasn't the custom, half their audience showed up between 8 and 8:05.

Not all traditions are written down.

If audiences are later than they used to be, I'd blame the movies, where the feature often starts a full 20 minutes after the announced start time.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 1/26/15 at 6:50pm

Here's a new one. Yesterday at the Sun matinee of Matilda....

In the middle of "Naughty" - maybe 10-15 into the show, we heard these weird little noises.... sounded like a cat meowing or maybe a doll or toy that makes noise from the very front of the orchestra section. The usher kept walking up and down the aisle to see what it was and where the noise came from. Eliza was on as Matilda.. it was obvious that she heard the noise also, even though she tried to ignore it as best she could. But then it stopped.

But about 45 minutes later, we heard the noises again and the usher was looking again. Finally a couple in the 3rd row of the orchestra section got up and left the theater.

The woman was wearing a big wrap-around fur coat.. As she walked by, I could see that she had hidden either a newborn baby or a tiny animal under her coat in a front carrier... and was obviously hoping he/she would not make noise for 2 1/2 hours...unrealistic hope obviously.

This would be horrible anywhere in the theater but three rows away from the stage....

[Fosse76]

Posted: 1/27/15 at 10:20pm

Hedwig starts at 8-10 minutes after printed show time. Starting 5 minutes after would be an aberration.

[Marway44]

Posted: 1/28/15 at 7:15pm

Here's one for you all...

Not on Broadway, but at the White Plains Performing Arts Center at a recent performance of "The Little Mermaid".

I was front row center with my wife and during the overture a family of 5 walked in and sat down behind us and they were talking...loudly! During the first scene the talking did not stop and then a little girl in the group started to walk up and down the row talking to each family member. The girl demanded snacks and she wanted them...NOW!!! The mother went out to buy the girl snacks and of course she walked in front of us. The mother returned with a drink and snacks but it's not what the girl wanted. The girl screamed at the mother and threw the drink and M&M's at the mother. The drink spilled by our feet along with the candy and the girl yelled that the mother needed to get her something else. Once again the mother went off in front of us and brought back more snacks. As she returned, "Under the Sea" was starting and the girl demanded the mother join her to dance! The mother and the girl danced right in front of the stage and you could see the cast looking in disbelief! The talking, walking, screaming, etc did not stop for the entire first act. During intermission the house manager asked them very nicely to stay seated and refrain from talking in the second act as it not only distracting to the audience but to the cast as well. Rather than apologize for their behavior, they said "yeah, okay". The mother then cursed using the "F" word loudly calling the manager disgusting names out loud. I asked them to please not curse in front of my wife and I was cursed out! I could not believe what was going on. The mother would not stop cursing at me until an older lady in the group told her to stop it. It did quiet down a little in the second act but by then my wife who had never seen the show was lost and I had to recap what she missed.

Now that's the type of people that make me angry! I will close by saying how nice the staff was to us and offered us comp tickets to return and see the show again.





Updated On: 1/29/15 at 07:15 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/28/15 at 7:38pm

Why do trash think they have ANY right to attend the theater? I'm so sorry that happened to you, that is a lovely performing arts center.

[Marway44]

Posted: 1/28/15 at 8:12pm

It is Sutton, it really a great theater. I felt bad for the performers who heard and saw them. It was distracting to everyone!